The Jewish Annotated New Testament (282 page)

3.1
–5: Timothy’s mission to the Thessalonians. 1
:
Athens
, see Acts 17.15–18.1.

4
: Paul again invokes persecution;
suffer persecution
(Gk “thlibesthai”) could be translated “undergo tribulation.” See 1.10n.

5
:
Tempter … tempted
, the Gk word means “test, put to the proof.” Paul’s fear was that the Thessalonians had failed to withstand the test, whatever it was.

3.6
–10: Paul expresses his relief and elation.
On hearing Timothy’s positive report, he reiterates his desire to visit (v. 6) to help the Thessalonians strengthen their faith (v. 10).

10
: Likely Timothy brought a letter to Paul from the Thessalonians containing questions that arose in the community; such questions may indicate what Paul understands to be
lacking in your faith
. Paul now turns from the past to the future, setting the stage for the exhortation in chs 4–5.

3.11
–13: Prayer concluding first part of the letter.
The themes in the following chs—sanctification (4.3–8), love (4.9–12), and the return of the Messiah (4.15–5.11)—are first mentioned in this prayer.
Coming … saints
, believers who have already died (see 4.14).

4.1
–5.22: Exhortation: Paul instructs the community on doctrine and behavior as it awaits Jesus’ return.

4.1
–2: Paul’s introduction to the letter’s exhortatory section.
Paul presupposes what he has previously taught.

1
:
Live
, lit., “walk,” Heb “halakh,” related to “halakhah,” an echo of a Hebrew Bible expression (e.g., Ps 1.1, “Happy the one who has not walked [“halakh”] in the counsel of the wicked”).

4.3
–8: Paul stresses the importance of sexual morality. 3–4
:
Sanctification
, or “holiness” (same word in vv. 4,7); believers are called to be “set apart” (Heb “qadosh”) by their conduct (Lev 19.2).
Abstain … control your own body
, Paul encourages marriage (the expression is lit., “control your own vessel,” which could mean either the sexual organ specifically or one’s spouse; see translators’ note
c
) and warns against adultery.

5
:
Lustful passion … Gentiles
, Roman sexual licentiousness was notorious (see Rom 1.28–32; Gal 5.19–21; 1 Tim 1.9–10). The comment applies to nonbelievers, though it may also serve to remind the Thessalonians what they have left behind (see 1 Cor 6.9–11).

8
:
Holy Spirit
, see 1.4n.

4.9
–12: Paul commends self-sufficiency.
See 2.8–9. Self-sufficiency is a form of filial love.

11
:
Aspire to live quietly
(Gk “philotimesthai hēsychazein,” lit., “be emulous [or ambitious] to rest, to live in quiet”), Paul’s phrasing may be meant to distinguish the community from an Epicurean assembly. Some Epicureans withdrew from society in pursuing their ideal of “ataraxia,” “freedom from disturbance.” Paul did not want to encourage withdrawal from society, and he wished to distinguish a quiet life of responsible work from the effort to avoid the disturbances of life entirely; nor did he want the church confused with the Epicureans, who were generally disparaged.
Work with your hands
, in emulation of Paul (2.9).

4.13
–18: Questions about the salvation of those believers who have died and about the coming of the Lord.
The Thessalonians had apparently sent Paul questions about the fate of those among them who had died before the return (“parousia”) of the messiah in glory.

15
:
The word of the Lord
, Paul may be referring to a prophecy that he understood as coming from God; the Gospels record no such teaching. These verses are the primary source (see also Mt 24.29–31) of the “Rapture,” part of a method of scriptural interpretation that arose in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and that spells out a detailed “end times” scenario. The Rapture, associated with the Tribulation (see 1.10n.; 3.4n.), suggests that Jesus’ followers who have died will be resurrected and, along with living Christians, will literally ascend to heaven. (The Rapture has become a significant component of some contemporary conservative Protestant eschatology.) Paul, however, is less concerned to provide details about the events of the messiah’s return; he is rather trying to reassure those Thessalonians who are concerned about the ultimate fate of their fellow-believers.

5.1
–11: The timing of the Lord’s return.
Paul instructs the Thessalonians how to prepare for the
day of the Lord
, a phrase appearing often in the Prophets (e.g., Isa 2.12–17; Joel 2.1; Am 5.18,20; Zeph 1.7), who use it to describe divine action including: God’s retribution against foreign nations that oppressed Israel; God’s punishment of Israel, Judah, or the Jewish people, and vindication of the oppressed; God’s reestablishment of Israel, Judah or the Jewish people under the rule and justice of God. Some texts specifically mention a messiah or Davidic king (e.g. Jer 23.5–6; Am 9.11) while others include the redemption of Gentile nations or all creation (e.g. Isa 2.2–4; Mic 4.1–3). New Testament writers use it, or variations of it (e.g., 1 Cor 1.8; 5.5; 2 Tim 1.18; Heb 9.28; 10.5), to refer to Jesus’ return.

1
:
Times and the seasons
, the end of days (see Dan 2.21).

2
–5
:
Thief
, see Lk 12.39–40.
Labor pains … pregnant woman
, see Isa 42.14; 66.7; Rom 8.22.
Children of light
, see Lk 16.8; Jn 12.36; Eph 5.8; cf. 1 Jn 2.8–11. See also Jn 1.4–5,7–9; 3.19–21; 8.12; 12.46. Apocalyptic writers describe the cosmic battle between good and evil in terms of light and dark. This imagery appears in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., light is associated with Torah [Isa 2.5], darkness with evil [Prov 2.13]; God is pictured as light [Ps 104.2]). In the DSS, humankind is divided into the “sons of light” and the “sons of darkness” (see esp. 1QM, which depicts the final battle between “the sons of light and the sons of darkness,” and 1QS).

6
–8
:
Awake … breastplate … helmet
, see Rom 13.11–13; Eph 6.13–17.

5.12
–15: Behavior within the community. 14
:
Idlers
, lit., “disorderly ones” (Gk “ataktos”).

5.16
–22: Closing exhortations and warnings. 19–21
: Paul warns the community not to
quench
words of prophecy, but nonetheless to
test
for false prophets. Prophecy here means words spoken, usually during worship, as from the Lord to the community by inspired members of the assembly.

5.23
–28: Conclusion and final benediction. 26
:
Holy kiss
, see also Rom 16.16; 1 Cor 16.20; 2 Cor 16.12. It was a chaste expression of the familial love (“agapē”) that characterized nascent Christian communities. It may have been part of early liturgy, or Paul was encouraging Christians to greet each other in this manner.

27
:
Command … that this letter be read to all
, the concluding section (beginning perhaps with v. 15) may have been written to be read to the assembly during worship.

28
: A standard close to Paul’s letters; see Rom 16.20; 1 Cor 16.23.
Grace
, (Gk “charis”), favor bestowed; here
Jesus Christ
is seen as the bestower, a god-like action.

1.1
–3: Greeting and first thanksgiving.
Parallels 1 Thess 1.1.

1
:
Silvanus
, or Silas; Acts 15.22,40; 17.1.
Timothy
, Paul’s co-worker and emissary; 1 Cor 16.10–11; Phil 2.19–24.

3
:
Love … for one another
, believers’ solidarity is praised, dividing them from outsiders (Jn 13.34; Phil 1.9; 1QS 5.1–20). Some rabbinic texts encourage tight bonds among the learned and separation from the unlearned (
b. Pesah
. 49b).

1.4
–10: God’s righteous judgment.
The author, influenced by Jewish apocalypticism, assures persecuted readers of divine justice.

4
:
Among the churches of God
, the community is connected with other Christian communities, suggesting a broad network of Gentile churches (1.7; Rom 16.4,16; 2 Cor 8.1; 1 Thess 1.7,9).
Steadfastness and faith
, emphasizing not the content of their faith but devotion despite suffering; Job 2.9–10;
b. Ber
. 61b, on commitment to God and Torah despite Roman persecution.
Persecutions … afflictions
, external evidence for mid-to-late first century persecution is limited. Persecution need not be violent; ostracism might provoke pain and anger.

5
:
This is evidence
, an ambiguous phrase, but
this
might refer to
steadfastness and faith
. When linked with God’s
righteous judgment
, God is seen to be the source of their devotion; Phil 1.28. Alternately,
this
might be believers’
afflictions
. Rather than undermining confidence in God, their afflictions are temporary chastenings for sins by a
righteous
God (even they have fallen short; Rom 2.5–11). Soon, however, they will receive rewards in God’s
kingdom
, while persecutors will be punished. Jewish texts offer a similar theodicy of present suffering and future reward;
Pss. Sol
. 13.9–10; 2 Macc 6.12–16;
2 Bar
. 13.3–10;
Gen. Rab
. 33.1.

7
–9
: The author uses vivid, traditional Jewish images of divine justice. On
mighty angels
see Zech 14.5; Ps 78.49;
1 En
. 54.6; 61.10; 1QM 1.10–11; on
flaming fire
see Isa 66.15; Dan 7.9–10. Along with belief in an afterlife,
eternal destruction
(v. 9) emerges (as a form of divine punishment) in some late Second Temple period texts; Dan 12.2; 4 Macc 10.15; 1QM 1.5; 1QS 2.14–15; 5.10–13.

7
:
The Lord Jesus is revealed
, he is the agent of divine justice; Rom 2.5. Similar expectations of a divinely sent redeemer who will punish Israel’s oppressors appear in Jewish texts;
1 En
. 48.1–49.4;
4 Ezra
7.28; 13.32.